Woodworm Treatment Services in The Cambridge Area

If you have woodworm in your property or at your business then you have an issue that is not going to go away without expert help. Pest Professionals in Cambridge can assist to provide you with instant guidance and help if you have woodworm problems in two very simple and effective stages:

The no obligation phone consultation service applies to both residential and business customers in the Cambridge region. No woodworm or timber job is too big or too small for us to take a look at. Where appropriate we are able to advise on any immediate action called for to protect your well being, property or possessions prior to a visit. If a visit is called for we let you know if there will be a call out cost and advise on the probable costs of any timber or woodworm treatment should it be called for.

Treatment of Woodworm and Timber Pests

The extensive use of timber in modern structural applications (floor joists, roof purlins, floorboards, rafters etc.) has increased the threat that timber pests pose. If left without treatment, these insects will bring about significant damage, which can ultimately result in structural failure of the building.

Even though the adults can fly, woodworm is commonly brought into a property for the first time through the purchase of second hand furniture and can certainly also cause serious damage to expensive wooden furniture, which may be antique.

Woodworm is in fact not a specific species of timber pest, but a generic term for the larval stage of a number of wood damaging beetles.

The Furniture Beetle, a small brown insect which is about 3mm to 5mm in length and flies quite readily, is the commonest. The Furniture Beetle lays its eggs on rough, unpolished wood and as soon as they hatch the grubs bore directly into the wood – leaving no trace until they emerge as beetles three years or so later, usually between May and September. Longhorn, Powder Post, Wharf Borer and Death Watch Beetles, the latter of which only infests large, old, hardwood beams, all have a foothold in the U.K.

The first sign of woodworm the majority of people see is neat, rounded holes about 2mm across in timber surface areas, often accompanied by small piles of wood dust underneath them.

Fresh holes show clean white wood within. Although the holes are made by emerging adult beetles that are as a result no longer a direct risk to the structure, larvae may still be tunnelling away inside the wood. Brittle edges to boards and to joists are also often a reliable indicator of their presence and the necessity for woodworm control measures.

Woodworm Control

In cases where valued, rare and expensive pieces of wooden furniture, musical instruments, decorative or structural woodwork are impacted and need saving, a specialist woodworm treatment approach will certainly be required. Woodworm in furniture may be cured with the use of the appropriate type of proprietary woodworm killer, with fluid injected into key flight holes. Floorboards should be lifted to get at the undersurfaces and the joists.

If you have woodworm you will need to get rid of them. One of our skilled Pest Professionals will carry out an initial survey to establish the type of timber pest involved and the level of the problem, before advising on the appropriate treatment. The good news is that on evaluation an appropriate treatment can eliminate woodworm entirely. In the event of a substantial or difficult to eradicate infestation, we can also advise on specialist heat treatment approach.

Varieties of Timber Pests in the UK

The Furniture Beetle

Easily the most prevalent timber pest in the UK. Damages furniture, musical instruments, decorative woodwork etc. Larvae live for 3-5 years in the wood.

Beetle Larvae

Timber pest larvae bore deep into the wood and emerge from May to September. They can be burrowing in the wood for many years.

Death Watch Beetle

Dark reddish brown. Grubs like to eat older, hardwood structural timbers and can live in them for ten years.

House Longhorn Beetle

Black/brown beetle not native to UK and primarily found in SE England. Infests seasoned and partly seasoned softwoods like pine.

Powder Post Beetle

Red/brown beetle that needs a diet of starch found in particular hardwoods. Can be a real problem in timber yards.

Wharf Borer Beetle

A brown beetle about 1cm long which lives in decayed wet timber. Adults commonly found near to waterways.

If you need sound advice or swift solutions to woodworm or timber pest problems anywhere in Cambridge or the surrounding towns and villages – get in touch.